THE 50 30 20 BUDGET PLAN ARE YOU SAVING ENOUGH FOR YOUR FUTURE ?

Have you given any new thought to your budget and how to make a budget? Or are you like many and it is money in and money out. If you find yourself at a much younger age than this retired senior writer then you may want to take a good long look at your budget.  Are you saving enough for an emergency or for your retirement?  If not why not grab a cup of coffee or tea or what ever and sit down with your numbers.
What are your needs?
What are your wants?
Are you saving anything. ?

The following is directly from the Internet with a link to read more if you want of the article.

The first step to creating a 50-30-20 budget is to allocate 50% of your monthly income to your must have items in life. This is a roof over your head, food, clothing, water, medical care etc. You need to make sure you are allocating only must have items to this part of the budget. Must haves are not a new shirt, a cable bill, gym membership, or anything other than absolute must haves to survive. Once you have done this you have completed the 50 portion of the budget.

The second step to creating a 50-30-20 budget is to allocate is the 30 portion. The 30 portion is the 30% of your monthly income that you can spend on what you want. This list can include your gym membership, cable bill, eating out, a new pair of shoes etc.

The third step to creating a 50-30-20 budget is the 20 portion. This is 20% of your monthly income that you are going to set aside in case of an emergency, or to pay down any debts that you owe. You can use this money in the event of a medical emergency, or in case you ever lose your job and need to have money available.

I will not get into specifics about our income or our outgo but I can tell you that we are just squeeking by with our needs and wants.  Problem is there is no money going into savings,
charity giving is very low which is not okay with either of us and our weekly allowance is not enough. This weekly allowance covers food at home, food out, gas for car or any kind of entertainment.

This leaves one way out and that is to make more money some how. How much money would that be a month is the key to all of it. I know what this figure is for us. It would be great if we could bring in $1200 to $1500 more a month net. To that you have to generate some sales some where. Means I may need to go and get a part time job some where which is something I do not want to do really.

We have different options since we buy and sell to suppliment our income. We do this either at Amazon, eBay and selling items either at the antique store or at the auction house. But how can I accomplish this in the time we have.

 Now it is your turn to take a look at your budget, your needs, wants and are you saving enough for your future.

Thanks for stopping, I hope that you will be back some time and take a few minutes to look at some of my other postings. I will be sharing this over at Saved Quarter blog


Read more: How to Create A 50-30-20 Budget | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5318525_create-budget.html#ixzz1lozUM300

To Live With Or Without Credit Cards

To live with or without credit cards is in the news more now than ever with the recent credit problems.

This morning my dh sent me a link for an article he thought I would enjoy called Seven Secrets Of Living Without A Credit Card.

During last year’s Black Friday shopping, about half as many consumers paid with plastic as had the previous year, according to America’s Research Group. And credit card ownership dropped to 67 percent in 2010 from 71 percent in 2008. .. Those are interesting facts.

We have chosen to no longer rely on credit cards to live. We live on a real budget for the first time in our marriage. In the past their was always the budget, which really meant paying the bills. But in the past if we wanted to go to dinner and cash was low we put it on one of our many credit cards. If we wanted to take off to Las Vegas to celebrate our wedding anniversary and New Years Eve no need to save up for it, we would just charge it and plan to pay if off. Of course the Las Vegas trip was not paid off by the end of the month so the debt came home with us. What kind of a vacation is that.

Here is the seven secrets .. go to the article to read it in full.


You’ll spend less... Well that is a no brainer for us. If the cash has run out there is no reason to go out to dinner or buy something we really do not need. Makes us think twice about our money and where we want it to be spent.

You’ll probably save more .. if we do not have that credit card as our emergency cushion
we come with ways to live on less and save more. We are setting our priorities and hoping to be an example for family members.

Renting a car is more of a hassle .. okay some car companies will want to put a hold on your debit account but if we do not have the extra money in our bank account then why are we traveling and renting a car.

Ditto for getting an apartment or a house .. okay with no credit card debt your credit score may not be as high. You may have to do more work to show your income and financial business but that is worth more to me than being slave to the credit card companies. Hubby and sure sleep better at night.

You can always go back.. that is true you give up the credit cards for years. You can always go back to get a credit card. Weekly we get credit card offers with 0 interest for a year. No thank you credit card company I no more want to go back to being in debt to you than I want to start smoking or drinking again. I care about my financial health as much as I do my physical health.

Not everyone thinks it’s smart to live on cash and not have a credit card. It is believed that we can not control our selves. Well okay there were times we could not control our selves. Anyone you carries a credit card balance probably can not control them selves. Otherwise it would be paid off at the end of the month. It is a known fact that if a credit card is used more money is spent.

There’s a psychological benefit to having a credit card. We use to think of the credit cards as an emergency fund. Now we work at living on less and putting money into a savings account for our emergency fund.

So could you live with or without credit cards?

We can and do .
Yes we do not go traveling like we use to.
We do not go out to eat 3 to 5 times a week.
But we do not owe any credit card company.
We are eating better and less and both of us sleep better every night.

thanks for stopping by... lets keep saving together and please remember
Never under estimate the value of a small amount of money... Grace

Monthly Budget Wrap Up December PLUS 2011 Financial Goals

December is just about gone and we made it. Was not easy or fun but we made it.
Christmas comes in December every year and we had not saved any money to buy gifts for the grandchildren (13 ) of them.
They all get something at our limit price and with some coupons at Hallmark I saved some money on one of the gifts. Thank you Hallmark.
With some juggling of money, pulling a little from our grocery fund and selling some junk silver we pulled it off.
Grandchildren all enjoyed their gifts from grandpa and grandma.

I sold some books on eBay and took some of that money and bought hubby new winter parka, gloves and knitted hat ( all half price at JC Penny's)
We have sold on eBay since 1998 and business is getting slower and slower or I am finding less every month worth while selling. I hoping things get better this coming year.

Mr. Murphy hit us hard in September when I ended up in surgery and the hospital for 10 nights with a horrible infection. Thank goodness we had insurance but we are still left with almost $1000 to pay off.
The smallest bill my wound vac will be paid off end of December and then we will work down the Clinic doctor and finally will work at the hospital.

Our goals for this coming year are to
1. Stay on Budget
2. Work at paying off the hospital/doctor bills
3. Work at improving our internet sales to bring in more income. This income will be used to
a. put 1,000 in bank for emergency fund
b. increase debt reduction plan.
c. save money for plans to travel next winter
d. put together money for deposit to a new apartment building. This one is to small
we would move into a senior high rise that is secure and hopefully less money every month
in rent and a view of our beautiful Lake Superior.
4. Attempt to get health insurance for me at a better price. We had gone and done this first of September and I was approved with a larger deductible. Just before we could finalize this I was put in the hospital with my infection. That plan was cancelled. We will try again after the first of the year but I am sure my monthly payment will not be as good as it could of been.

So this is the update on my December budget and and plans and goals for next year.
Have you made your budget and goals for next year?

Thanks for stopping by.. Lets keep saving together.. Grace